How do I make sure my child support is paid when I move with the child outside of the United States?
Child support enforcement and visitation are much easier to enforce across state lines, but when the custodial parent leaves the United States, child support enforcement can be complicated. If no state jurisdiction is established prior to the child leaving the United States, and even if state child support orders are issued prior to the child leaving, enforcing child support laws vary by country and, depending on which country the parent and child live in outside United States jurisdiction, child support enforcement can be complex.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement, has a helpful handbook that can be downloaded. There is a chapter on working across borders, titled, “Cooperation Between States, Tribes, Countries Interstate/Inter-jurisdictional Enforcement” that provides relevant information. Above all, your best plan of action is to consult with a Family Law attorney with experience in Interstate and Inter-jurisdictional Family Law before leaving the Untied States to live in another country.
